What’s a simple marketing practice for creating a name?
Branding
What exactly does "branding" mean?
To understand branding, it’s important to know what brands are.
A brand is the idea or image of a specific product or service that consumers connect with, by identifying the name, logo, slogan, or design of the company who owns the idea or image.
Simply put, your brand is your promise to your customer. It tells them what they can expect from your products and services, and it differentiates your offering from that of your competitors.
Branding builds up expectation about the company services or the product, providing a driving force of encouragement to either maintain or exceed the expectation providing even better products or services to the market.
We all know have exact and specific expectations when will it comes to say a specific product of a particular brand
Like for example when we think of Apple phones we have in mind what the Brand “Apple” has offered with I Phones in past, hence keeping that in mind when it comes to the next phone which will be launched the expectation are to receive more than what is offered before
While I was reading “The Atlantic” it occurred to me if we go behind in the past what was necessary to be successful in business was to make a product with good quality and you would strike the goal. Whatever you offered say good coffee, whiskey or beer, people would come to your shop and buy it. The only requirement was to produce products superior to the quality of your competition.
Now we exist in an era or rather an age of quality products. Today if we go in a supermarket & decide to compare new companies products with the same category leader brand the quality found would be same or of almost equal quality.
Like for example we all are aware of a Spice mix band Everest who has helped us move away from home made bends of spices to prefer a branded spice they have been serving us from past 45 years forming our leader band in the category of blended spices today in market we when move towards the shelves of the spice mixes other than the leader brand we also do find other competitors entered market offering the same quality product.
A handful of these marketing leaders are listed in the gallery below. And the reason they have survived the test of time comes down to the discipline of marketing and branding.
The shift from simple good quality products to bands happened due to the grown standardization of the quality of the product.
Companies needed to find a new way to differentiate themselves from their competitors.
Next to the product quality, a understanding of the target audience (customer) is needed i.e. the “brand proposition” that offers not only functional but also emotional value to the product or service.
Winning is determined by understanding the consumer better than your competitors and the getting the total "brand mix" right. The brand mix is more than the logo, or the price of a product. It's also the packaging, the promotions, and the advertising, all of which is guided by precisely worded positioning statements.
Hence said
"When you Brand yourself properly the completion becomes irrelevant"
In today’s market regardless of the size, business owners need to create a brand around their business.
A brand is the collective impact or lasting impression from all that is seen, heard, or experienced by customers who come into contact with a company and/or its products and services. In creating a brand, or "branding," you have to manage the effect that your product or service is having on the customer.
Marketing is the method business owners use to spread word about their company, but marketing isn't just about putting a sales message on a postcard and mailing it out to potential clients; marketing is about branding your company so that potential clients have an idea of what to expect when working with you, understand what sets you apart from competitors and can identify your company out of a crowd of others in the industry.
Branding is one of the most important tasks a business can do, since it could be the tipping point between gaining and losing sales. If you aren't sure where to even begin in branding your business, here are a few tips to help you get started.
Define your business, define your brand
To get an idea of what your brand may look like, write down things that define your business.
For example, a dry cleaning company that specializes in suits and higher-end clothing might choose: 1) Properly cleaned attire 2) Same day service 3) Safe cleaning technique, whether it be silk, satin, cashmere or cotton. This would then boil down to: Clean, Quick and Safe.
Consistency
You want your brand to have the same message and effect on all your customers. The quality or the products needs to be constantly consistent
You want to create message of consistency: "when you use/purchase my product or service, you will get exactly what you want every time."
Differentiation
Brands that are successful create a gap between themselves and their competitors in the minds of the consumers. Generally speaking, companies in the same industry usually offer products that are 99.9% identical to non-specialists – the difference is in the brand.
For example both Nike & Adidas both companies have been offering best quality sportswear. What the customers choose is the brand they like or prefer.
Creativity
Innovative ideas and unique messages delivered through creative mediums will always enhance the status of a brand.
Create a Logo and Design Scheme
It's important to have many different ways to convey your message and style to your potential clients, so you need to have both verbal and visual brand representations for your company.
Choose a Simple Branding Message
What sets your company apart from others in your industry? What makes you different and original? What about your company makes it the one that a potential client should choose? These are the questions that your brand message should answer. Find a simple, smooth and uncluttered way to convey these answers through your branding message.
For example
MasterCard: "There are some things money can't buy. For everything else, there's MasterCard."
In business, a slogan or tagline is "a catchphrase or small group of words that are combined in a special way to identify a product or company,"
Measure Reactions on Your Message and Design
As you move forward, make sure you measure the reactions of your potential clients to your brand.
When you notice certain aspects of your branding not delivering, tweak / improve them.
Monitor Your Brand
As you establish and grow your brand, you will have to watch it carefully. You don't want to have your competitors infringe upon or take over essential elements of your brand. Here's how to prevent it.
Review time to time
A simple formula to follow when building a brand is:
1. Test out new ways to market and brand your product or service.
2. Review what went right and what can be improved.
3. Enhance what you already have.
Good brands take time to develop. You will not go from being a corner store cobbler to overthrowing Nike in one year. You have to be patient and keep refocusing your campaigns and improving the quality of the product or service you are trying to brand.
Branding is a dynamic part of your marketing plan. It is an effective way to allow your business to stand apart from competitors and discover how to best speak to your potential clients and win their trust.
If required we offer Brand development services you can contact us
We say
“Managing your brand is not a singular event, but is a Continuous process."
How far & strong is your Brand?
How you look
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How you speak
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How you act
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Your personal brand
